Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of Eastern and South-Central Africa Since 20,000 Years Ago Page 1 of 15 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Subscriber: University of South Florida; date: 31 May 2020 Print Publication Date: Jul 2013 Subject: Archaeology, Archaeology of Africa Online Publication Date: Sep 2013 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569885.013.0032 Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of Eastern and South-Central Africa Since 20,000 Years Ago Sibel Barut Kusimba The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology Edited by Peter Mitchell and Paul J. Lane Abstract and Keywords A growing number of sites and sequences are now coming together to paint a more com plete picture of East African hunter-gatherers of the last 20,000 years. During this period, microlithic technologies became widespread as hunter-gatherers adapted to different en vironments, ranging from highly mobile hunters of large game to sedentary forest dwellers with broad diets, and semi-sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherers. Other themes that emerge are greater assemblage diversity through time and an elaboration of the skills and technologies required to adapt to particular environments and the resources they could provide, including experiments in resource intensification. Ethnographic and eth noarchaeological records help explain how some foraging societies survived into the more recent past and the nature of their interactions with both farmers and herders. This arti cle discusses late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers; the Pleistocene–Holocene transition; mid and late Holocene hunter-gatherer-fishers; resource intensification; and hunter-gather ers, herders, and farmers. Keywords: microlithic technologies, hunter-gatherer, resource intensification, ethnoarchaeological records Introduction A growing number of sites and sequences are now coming together to paint a more com plete picture of East African hunter-gatherers of the last 20,000 years. During this period Mode 5 microlithic technologies became widespread as hunter-gatherers adapted to dif ferent environments, ranging from highly mobile hunters of large game to sedentary for est dwellers with broad diets, and semi-sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherers. Other themes that emerge are greater assemblage diversity through time and an elaboration of the skills and technologies required to adapt to particular environments and the resources they could provide, including experiments in resource intensification. Although specific ethnographic examples have limited applicability, greater evidence of symbolic behaviour, long-term traditions, and diverse adaptations make most archaeologists comfortable with